M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $218.21 and last traded at $218.05, with a volume of 207943 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MTB shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $170.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $210.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded M&T Bank from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $183.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on M&T Bank from $190.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on M&T Bank from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.65.

M&T Bank Trading Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $36.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.46.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.60 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. M&T Bank had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 9.52%. On average, equities research analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 39.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Denis J. Salamone sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.03, for a total value of $1,720,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,724,491.06. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Kevin J. Pearson sold 7,500 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.88, for a total value of $1,469,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,933,531.76. This trade represents a 15.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,383 shares of company stock worth $13,576,801 in the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of M&T Bank

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 13.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,349,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,199,675,000 after buying an additional 1,508,846 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in M&T Bank by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,562,725,000 after acquiring an additional 527,854 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in M&T Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,037,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $897,216,000 after purchasing an additional 190,837 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in M&T Bank by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,329,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,824,000 after purchasing an additional 66,337 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in M&T Bank by 4.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,781,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,696,000 after purchasing an additional 81,004 shares during the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, National Association that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, and Institutional Services and Wealth Management.